Picaresque Novel Essay

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------------------------------------------------- PICARESQUE NOVEL: berachampa Term ‘picaresque’ Novel’ is coined from the Spanish term ‘picaro’, meaning ‘rogue’, a novel that realistically recounts the adventures of as carefree but engaging rascal who always manages to escape by the skin of his or her teeth. The picaresque novel is episodic, its unity resulting from the near constant presence of the central character, who comes from a low social class and generally lives by his or her wits rather than by honest or hard work. Picaros, though adopt at trickery, generally do not engage, evolve or developed. Following are the chief features of a Picaresque novel: (i) It has a picaro or a semi-criminal as its central figure, to shift for himself early in life. (ii) The plot consists of a series of thrilling events only loosely connected together by the fact that the same central character figures in them all. (iii) The plot is episodic, and the insider thrilling or sensational. (iv) There is immense variety-social setting of incident and of character. (v) A picture of contemporary society is thus presented realistically and completely. (vi) The novelist may satirize various faults of character or the corruption of society, but his purpose is to entertain and delight. (vii) He is not concerned, to any great extent, with moral issues. The picaresque novel is not moral in its intention. In general, Picaresque novels are told from the first person point of view and have satirical intent. The wanderings and adventures enable the picaro to meet people of all classes---- bankers, politicians, the clergyman, doctors, and lawyers etc. the Picaresque novel is anti-romantic in character and attacks the romance of chivalry so popular in medieval Europe. Influenced by the Satyricon (A.D.50) of the ancient Roman writer Petronius, the Picaresque novel emerged as a genre in the

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